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Discuss The Key Factors That Led To The Battle Of Blair Mountain Uprising

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What are the key factors that led to the Battle of Blair Mountain uprising, and how has it impacted the future of American labor? Background Information: From the late 19th Century into the early 20th Century, coal was the staple of West Virginia labor and industry. Coal shaped the economy of many West Virginia counties, and many businesses had chosen their locations based on where coal was prominent. However, the coal industry was managed in a corrupt way. Coal miners weren’t paid well, sanitation was atrocious, and the government failed to support the individual workers despite supporting the higher-ups of the industry. These qualities already made the workers agitated, but the danger that came with coal mining as a job made aggression violent. As Percy McBride noted, “A man was three times safer fighting on the front lines of World War I than he was working in the mines of West Virginia.” West Virginia has a long history of labor unrest and uprisings in the coal industry, beginning as soon as the industry was established. The Battle at Blair Mountain was the climax of ongoing violence and conflict in the coal industry. Between 1892 and 1902, five …show more content…

The racially unified front presented by the miners shows how beyond their time these miners were in this respect. This unity was a significant step forward in the labor movement and foreshadowed the broader civil rights advancements that would follow decades later. The legacy of the Battle of Blair Mountain is seen in its contribution to subsequent labor victories, including the passage of the Wagner Act in 1935, which provided legal protections for unions and collective bargaining. Additionally, the New Deal policies under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, which improved labor conditions and strengthened union power, can trace part of their roots back to the labor struggles seen back in the Blair Mountain

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